


impius haec est

by vermicious_knid



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Eros - Freeform, F/M, Gen, Greek, Horror, Mythology - Freeform, Psyche - Freeform, twist - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28840404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vermicious_knid/pseuds/vermicious_knid
Summary: She had done it.But as Psyche stood there, holding the bloodied wings of her beloved in her hands the implications of what she just had done began to sink in.
Relationships: Eros/Psyche (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

_She had done it._

_But as Psyche stood there, holding the bloodied wings of her beloved in her hands the implications of what she just had done began to sink in._

* * *

Psyche had always been quiet and mild, terrible in her own beauty and beloved by all – her beauty even surpassing that of Aphrodite herself.

But she had been a lonely girl, and other women envied her.

The youngest of three sisters – the other two loud and boisterous, always ready to speak their mind, two whirlwinds with not a care in the world. They were like the eldest olive trees in the garden, predictable as the seasons.

Psyche was well-behaved, and sang as well as she was beautiful.

Everyone in the kingdom loved Psyche best – except for the town oracle.

The oracle was afraid of her.

* * *

Psyche’s parents saw but did not truly see their youngest daughter. They saw her beauty, and their pride reflected in her.

It was true that Psyche was lonely, but there was more to it than that. The brightest sunshine casts the deepest, darkest shadows after all.

The men who courted her were at first all enthusiasm, wildly proclaiming their feelings with a tremor in their hands. They promised her everything they could offer – a whole kingdom, if she so desired. But something warned them off – nobody told them to take heed, but there was a feeling in the back of their minds – an instinct that said it was best to look elsewhere, for here might be monsters.

Only few of these men explained themselves afterward – spending long evenings in taverns, afraid to go home, their expressions lost and terrified. They said that, after a time, the lovely mysterious evenings with Psyche had a certain quality about them. A hard edge, a haunting tone that made the most innocent things look threatening and grim.

Holding Psyche’s small white hands in the moonlight felt suddenly like holding onto death. Watching the lily pond, and suddenly seeing glowing pairs of eyes stare back at you from under the surface. Flowers in the garden that bled from the stems when they looked too closely.

Psyche’s mother and father despaired over their daughters loneliness – not knowing that all the while, a god had been watching her very closely – and this one did not see the bleeding stems, nor the strange eyes that seemed to follow in her wake.


	2. Chapter 2

Eros seldom visited the mortal plane for long stretches of time – and if he did, it was usually for an errand. This time was no exception, for his mother had told him many concerning things about a certain mortal girl.

”The flames do not grow warm for me, they flicker.” she said, speaking of the candles and the many fires the humans lit in Aphrodite’s honor. Sometimes they even threw themselves into the flames, their love for Aphrodite was so strong.

Aphrodite’s love for humans was a tricky thing – she liked their attention and their worship, but their lives meant little to her.

”Find a god who weeps at the sight of a mortal passing – they aren’t many. ” Was a sentence muttered often enough on Olympus.

”Their attention has shifted to one of their own, for they claim her beauty is far greater than my own. How can that be? ” She continued, stroking the bright yellow leopard in her lap, bathing her feet by the coast of some tropical island while her son paced along the beach. She couldn’t keep away from her place of birth for very long.

”She will die soon enough – time will take care of it. ” Was Eros reply then, as he cared very little about his vain mother’s plight. She had always been vain and cruel – even to him.

He was borne of stars and half of that cruelty, pooled into his eyes and the cruel twist of the neck that was only visible during an eclipse. But he was beautiful, just like her – many mortal girls had drowned themselves out of desperation, of despair because of him.

The forest nymphs were his constant consorts – they only tittered and laughed at his cruel jokes, at his attempts to break their hearts since they had none, only sea water and molasses.

Aphrodite’s voice shifted tone, becoming darker and less feminine, less beautiful.

”I want you to find her and curse her to love a man so hideous that it will turn her into a disgrace.”


	3. Chapter 3

The palace where Psyche and her family lived was lavish.

The night that Eros arrived, it was filled with people laughing and talking. Torches burned, lighting up the dark night sky.

There were many beautiful mortal women present, and like the fruit served they were just as sweet and tempting.

Eros could taste the night air on his tongue – sweet and inviting, and for wild, fleeting moment he felt as young as he looked, instead of ancient and world-weary. It was not difficult to find the particular woman he was looking for – she stood out among those around her with her appearance. Her beauty was indeed to rival even a goddess – with eyes that sparkled and skin the same color of pale roses in may.

She was standing in a corner of the well-lit cavernous room where people where dancing, and she was watching them with a somewhat melancholic expression on her face.

He readied his arrow – he had made a special one just for her.

Make her fall in love with a fool – make her so sick of love that she can't eat or sleep. His mother had commanded this.

So why hesitate?

Psyche was not beautiful in the way Eros was used to. She did not possess long flowing locks of blonde hair – it was jet black, and fell like a river around her. Her eyes may have sparkled, but they were grey and deeply troubled, and her nose was as red as a rabbit's. She did not look smug, but cornered – lost in thought.

Eros found himself lowering his bow and arrow.

_You must speak to this woman. You must speak to her tonight._


	4. Chapter 4

She had been to many gatherings like this before.

Psyche knew what joy was, and how to obtain it – but she could also remain detached to it, not welcome it as many others would.

Or maybe it was that she simply took pleasure in other ways.

The truth was both, and a third – a future burning ember that the Oracle had foreseen, and would never speak of. That was why she had sewn her mouth shut, so that no word of it would ever escape her lips. In the company of her female companions, Psyche rarely spoke and if she did, the words were strung together in a way that suggested that she hadn't been paying attention to what the others had been saying.

The truth was that she didn't know why she was so different from her family, and it frightened her.

The night called to her outside the large looming windows pointed north, and she wanted to yield to it.

That was when a figure stepped out of the crowd, and spoke to her.

"Forgive me mistress, it seems that I am lost."

The words were blunt – there was no smile upon his face. He was a man with golden hair, his features noble but ravaged. He had a pair of piercing blue eyes, which seemed to never blink as they gazed upon her.

Many men had spoken to Psyche before, enticed her to speak with clever words of their own. This scene was not an unfamiliar one, but it had a tone that was new.

Psyche canted her head to one side, considering. Her dark hair followed the movement, falling over her shoulder like a handful of water. Her grey eyes pierced him like twin blades – they sparkled, whispered amongst themselves as they regarded him sharply.

"That is most unusual, my lord. Too much wine perhaps?" she asked, and Eros came to stand beside her to watch the crowd as well. Dancing couples whirled around them gracefully, and nobody noticed the newcomer.

"I have yet to drink."

"The valley below has a river where the water is sweet."

Eros stared at the point just below her collarbone – found himself wanting to press his thumb there and eat from the hollow of her bones.

"Much sweeter than what is here?" he asked, and she laughed a strange sort of laugh. He could not understand what it meant.

"Your speech is bold and you have yet to present yourself. Only gods and fools are except of such things."

He shrugged and looked away again.

"I suppose I am the latter then. "


End file.
